That was the day after doctors removed Amy's vision-impaired right eye. The surgery left her blind, as she lost her left eye when she was diagnosed with retinoblastoma as an infant.

Amy was an office manager for Verderese Financial in Auburn when the childhood cancer returned a decade ago as osteosarcoma, a malignant bone tumor behind her cheek. She underwent four surgeries and several chemotherapies. Even before the removal of her only eye, her vision was poor.

Amy would lose her health, but she never lost her job.

"Amy was a very heroic woman," said company owner Paul C. Verderese. "She was an inspiration."

But heroism comes in many forms, even though it's not always obvious. At Verderese's small company in Drury Square, the computers were adapted to accommodate Amy's vision. When the chemo sapped her energy, her office hours became flexible. And if Verderese had to hire someone to help with Amy's workload, he did it.

"Amy could always figure out ways to get the work done," said Verderese, 63. "Sure, it took her longer, but she got it done."

A graduate of Auburn High and Nichols College, Amy had a strong work ethic and loved the feeling of satisfaction that came with her job. In 2000, she was hired at Verderese Financial and bought a house. In 2002, she married her best friend, Peter J. Ouellette. In 2003, her childhood cancer returned.

And as the illness inexorably took its toll, she worried about the quality of her work.

"Amy tried to quit her job many times," her husband said. "Not because she wanted to, but because she was concerned that she'd drag down the company. But Paul wouldn't hear of it."

Her tumor grew so large that she lost the ability to speak and could no longer answer the phone. In February 2012, she underwent the surgery that removed her right eye and was out of work for seven months. When she was strong enough to return to work, her job was waiting for her.

Why?

"How many employers have an employee who would go to such extremes and be so loyal to her employer?" Verderese asked. "How would you let someone like that go?"

There was also the matter of her appearance. The tumor had ravaged Amy's face, causing her lips to protrude and her forehead to swell above eyeless sockets. Asked if any customers responded negatively to Amy, Verderese said no.

"We made sure they were prepared," he said. Asked if she was efficient after her final surgery, Verderese paused.

"She was very efficient before all of that happened," he said. "Her efficiency was not up to her standards, but she found a way to do it."

Amy's husband said the job kept her alive.

"It kept her going and gave her the will to live," Peter said. "She could come in at her leisure and work the hours she could. The job would change to whatever she was capable of."

Amy's last day of work was Aug. 16. She died a week later at age 44. At her funeral, her friend Shirley O'Connor met Verderese for the first time.

"You have no idea what you did for her," O'Connor told him.

But Verderese would rather speak about Amy's courage and the devotion of her husband. And he dismissed any suggestion that he acted with extraordinary compassion.

"Employers and company CEOs get a bad rap from today's culture," he said. "But loyalty works both ways. I had an employee who was loyal to my needs. Why wouldn't I be loyal to her?"